Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Hillary Clinton began the decade as first lady, spent most of it as a U.S. senator and finished it Secretary of State. Oh, and she almost became the first female commander in chief. “She made us all see women as potential presidents,” says one of our MacArthur “genius” voters, David Montgomery, a geomorphologist and professor at the University of Washington. If anyone had a more intellectually rigorous résumé for the decade, we have yet to see it.

Bill was named for "for redefining philanthropy in the modern era," while Hillary was named for "giving "smart power" a star turn at the State Department." Here is what else they said about Hillary and Bill:

A year ago, there were questions. Would she play the follower in an administration she had hoped to lead? Would he use his global clout -- tremendous, if no longer paramount -- to give tacit support to the new, young Democratic administration? To both, the answer is yes, and more: In the past year, Bill and Hillary Clinton have solidified their status as the global power couple of all power couples.

Bill Clinton's brainchild, the Clinton Global Initiative, now in its fifth year, brings together leaders from aid organizations, academia, business, and government to put their checkbooks behind his big ideas. This year, they committed $9 billion to provide inoculations for 40 million, job opportunities for 80 million, and schools for 30 million, among other ambitious targets. In his off hours, he moonlights as a freelance diplomat, tackling Haiti, on behalf of the United Nations, and North Korea, as a private citizen. In Port-au-Prince, he worked with humanitarian physician Paul Farmer to bolster investment and alleviate poverty. In Pyongyang, he successfully negotiated the release of two U.S. journalists and helped start a thaw in relations with the Hermit Kingdom. Miraculously, Clinton kept his diplomatic side gig without stepping on the toes of his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This year, she has tirelessly broadcast the administration's banner diplomatic message: The United States under Obama is a smart power, a participant in a "new era of engagement based on common interests, shared values, and mutual respect." But Clinton is also aiming to remake the State Department itself. The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review she initiated promises a thorough, ongoing assessment of the massive bureaucracy in order to create a leaner, more responsive State Department capable of being the engine of Washington's new diplomacy.